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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25450594">hush</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/rudimentaryflair/pseuds/rudimentaryflair'>rudimentaryflair</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>AELDWS 2020 [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Inception (2010)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Body Horror, Don't copy to another site, Forging (Inception), Horror, M/M, i ... also strongly dislike how this turned out lol, it's not graphic though dw, well. an attempt at it at least</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 07:42:01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>249</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25450594</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/rudimentaryflair/pseuds/rudimentaryflair</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>"Shh."<i></i></i>
</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Arthur/Eames (Inception)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>AELDWS 2020 [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1828894</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>hush</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Written for Week 2 of the AELDWS 2020 challenge</p>
<p>Prompt: Perfect Strangers<br/>Genre: Horror<br/>Word Count: 250</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“You should take a break,” Arthur says after the fifth time Eames botches his forge.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Professionals don’t take breaks,” Eames retorts. He growls when his reflection shifts back to himself. “Bloody hell, I’m not usually this inept — ” His voice cuts off with an odd, strangled noise.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Arthur frowns. “What — ”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The rest of his question is a choked mess, because where Eames’ reflection was is — </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>Eames. It looks like him: has his hair and his chin and his wide, terrified eyes, but his mouth is just fucking </span>
  <em>
    <span>gone.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Erased.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The real Eames still looks normal save for the horrified expression on his face, but when he tries to speak, or maybe scream, his jaw strains like it’s been wired shut. Belatedly, Arthur realizes that his gaze is unfocused, aimed somewhere over Arthur’s shoulder; in the mirror, Eames’ reflection loses its eyes, features being wiped blank.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>In a fit of desperation, Arthur jabs his elbow viciously into the mirror. It shatters into a thousand silver fragments, throwing him into wakefulness.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The bed jostles. Eames hand seals around his wrist, and Arthur fights through the sheets to find his jaw with his fingers.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thank god,” he says. “Eames, I just had the strangest dream …” He trails off. His thumb traces over where Eames’ lips should be and feels only smooth skin. Slowly, he turns Eames’ face towards him, only to discover nothing staring back.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The stranger who is not Eames reaches over and places a single finger on his lips.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Shh.</span>
  </em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I think I sprained something in my brain writing this haha. Anyways, I'm rudimentaryflair on Tumblr!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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